http://entertainment.timesonline.co.uk/tol/arts_and_entertainment/books/book_extracts/article4773601.ece
10: Ulysses – James Joyce
9: Lord of the Rings – J R R Tolkien
8: For Whom the Bell Tolls – Ernest Hemingway
7: À la Recherche du Temps Perdu – Marcel Proust
6: The Dice Man – Luke Reinhart
5: Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas – Hunter S Thompson
4: The Beauty Myth – Naomi Wolff
3: War and Peace – Leo Tolstoy
2: The Iliad -- Homer
1: Pride and Prejudice – Jane Austen
You really should read the article to see his reasoning. Some are quite funny, some are almost offensive. Take his reasoning on the number two pick, The Iliad:
The very idea that you are somehow culturally incomplete without knowledge of Homer is ridiculous. The Iliad is one of the most boring books ever written and it’s not just a boring book, it’s a boring epic poem; all repetitive battle scenes with a lot of reproaching and challenging and utterances escaping the barrier of one’s teeth and nostrils filling with dirt and helmet plumes nodding menacingly. There’s a big fight between Achilles and Hector and that’s about it.He left out the bit about the cataloging of ships. Still, it is an amusing article. What are your most over-rated books?
2 comments:
Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance. I couldn't finish the book. I tried, I just couldn't. According to Wikipedia (the modern student's Cliffnotes) the book explores the metaphysics of quality by chronicling a 17 day motorcycle trip across the country.
Honestly tho, I saw it as a boring, uneventful roadtrip filled with tinkering with his engine, and longwinded diatribes into his thoughts as he whines about the haves and the have-nots... and why the have-nots are stronger in character... even tho he totally misses the fact that he's taking jabs at his travelling companions for being willing to spend a little more money just for the convenience of not having to worry about their bikes breaking down.... and frankly trying to take your friends down a peg seems slightly weak in character to me.... so yeah.
Don't let the title fool you. Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance is NOT a doorway to enlightenment or inner peace.
Oh God, anything by Paulo Coelho. Naval-gazing at its eye-rollingly finest.
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